Lima, Oct. 11, 2007.- Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations, Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, today during a visit to the Andean organization’s headquarters in Lima, expressed her Government’s desire to “contribute to the consolidation and strengthening of the Andean Community integration process.”

She pointed out that Mexico is willing to cooperate in areas like education, environmental protection, poverty eradication, social development and disaster relief. In this context, she expressed her country’s interest in moving toward associate membership in the CAN.   

Espinosa Cantellano also indicated that her government “is most willing to share with the Andean Community its experience in negotiating the cooperation and political dialogue chapters of the Association Agreement with the European Union.”

The Secretary of Foreign Relations indicated that trade between the Andean Community and Mexico is progressing very well, having almost tripled between 2000 and 2006, and that the meetings that have been held between the two parties, the instruments they have signed and the formal bodies that have been set up are irrefutable poof of the existence of a strategy aimed at building a long-term relationship. 

“Mexico reiterates its will to strengthen links with all of the Latin American and Caribbean countries and its participation in the Andean Community constitutes an important vehicle for attaining this objective,” she stressed, after reiterating her country’s desire to continue working to strengthen the process of dialogue and consultation with the CAN. 

The Secretary General of the Andean Community, Freddy Ehlers, for his part, noted that in November 2006 the CAN and Mexico had signed an Agreement to establish a Political Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism on matters of mutual interest and that the First Meeting of that mechanism was held very recently, on September 26, in New York City. 

He pointed out that this is indicative of the interest of both parties in strengthening a relationship based on like visions and very similar problems.  “Mexico is an essential part of our Latin America and being in Mexico is being in the Andean countries,” he added.